STRAWBERRY SHORTBREAD COOKIES, TWO WAYS

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

One cookie dough, two different outcomes. Not sure which one I loved most, but the rolled out and cut as circles is obviously the simplest and easiest. But, how to resist little tiny strawberry shaped cookies, coated in chocolate?

STRAWBERRY SHORTBREAD COOKIES
(slightly modified from Bakes by Brown Sugar)

320 grams unbleached all-purpose flour
15 grams strawberry powder
227 grams unsalted butter room temperature
114 grams granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Strawberry Glaze
1 cup (115 grams) powdered sugar
5g strawberry powder
3-5 teaspoons whole milk

Mix the flour, strawberry powder and salt in a bowl. Reserve.

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Add all the flour-strawberry mixture at once. Turn the mixer to low speed and mix until all the dry ingredients are combined and the dough forms into a cohesive dough ball. The dough will be crumbly at first but then form into a dough ball. Turn the cookie dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to shape the dough into a rectangle and lightly flour the top of the dough.

Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thick. Use a round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Place the cookies on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or perforated silicone mat. Freeze for 15 minutes.

Heat the oven to 300 degrees F. Bake the cookies for 20-23 minutes.

Make the glaze: place the powdered sugar and strawberry powder in a bowl. Add 3 teaspoons of milk and stir until the mixture is creamy and smooth and there are no lumps. The glaze will be thick. If you want a thinner glaze, add milk 1/2 teaspoon at a time until the desired consistency is achieved.

Holding each cookie on their sides, dip the top of the of the cookie into the glaze. Press down slightly to ensure the whole of the top side is covered. Lift the cookie up and shake off any excess glaze. Place the cookie back on the wire rack and let the glaze set. Decorate with fondant or chocolate pieces.

To make strawberry shaped cookies, press the cookie dough in the cavities of a silicone mold (I used this one), and bake at 350F for about 15 minutes. Let it cool completely in the mold before removing the cookies. Wash the mold and dry well. Paint melted compound chocolate dyed red and green carefully in the cavities, then drop the baked cookie back inside. Place in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes to solidity the chocolate. Carefully remove the coated cookies, use a Microplane if you need to adjust the edges.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This delicious cookie recipe comes from a former contestant of The Great American Baking Show, participant before my time, Cheryl. I subscribe to her blog, and invite you to visit clicking here. I modified her recipe to use a product I am quite fond of, strawberry powder. Easier to use than freeze-dried, although you will have to cave and support the Evil Empire to get some. I have never seen it sold in grocery stores in my town. The cookies are absolutely delicious, you could skip the glaze but I urge you not to. Just wonderful! Thank you, Cheryl!

The little strawberries were a bit more involved to make, but they were a big hit when I donated them. I know some have issues using compound chocolate, but it does a good job here. Not too hard to bite into, and if you use a nice brand, it tastes fine. Just take your time painting the inside of the strawberry. Do the green part first, let it set, then come with the red all over it, and immediately place the cookie inside.

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28May2026

BRINED AND SLOW-ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

We love chicken thighs, they are part of our dinner rotation, at least once every two weeks. I am partial to slow-roasting and then blasting them skin side up at higher temperature, but today I share one more twist to this method: brining the pieces of chicken first. They end up with a wonderful texture, slightly more tender and juicy. It is an extra step, but you can do it hours in advance and forget about it until it is time to cook your meal.

BRINED AND SLOW-ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

6 chicken thighs
1 quart water
1/4 cup Kosher salt

Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, juice and zest
black pepper
drizzle of honey
2 tsp mustard

Dissolve the salt in the water, and soak the pieces to completely cover them. Place in the fridge anywhere from 2 to 6 hours.

Remove pieces from the brine, rinse briefly, pat dry. Make the marinade by mixing all ingredients, then add to the brined thighs. Place back in the fridge for a couple of hours or even overnight.

Roasts the chicken at 325F for about 90 minutes, skin side down, covered with foil. You can sprinkle the pieces with a bit of salt if you like, but the brining step is going to make them slightly salty already. Remove the foil, flip the pieces to have the skin up, increase temperature to 425F and roast until the skin is dark brown to your liking, 20 to 25 minutes longer.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: You can take the marinade in many different directions, or even omit it altogether for a very basic method that will still be delicious. I intend to go for a little gochujang kick next time. Leftovers stay great for days, which is – as you know – a bonus with us. I hope you give this method a try if you have never brined chicken pieces before.

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24May2026

ONE DOUGH, THREE OUTCOMES

Posted in Breads by sallybr

For some odd reason, we’ve been going through sourdough eating at a fast pace. I used my default recipe two days in a row, first being a regular boule with an attempt of flowery design that had so much enthusiasm in the oven that it exploded through the petals, but I am not one to complain about excessive oven spring…

Next day, I went a bit crazy and did something totally different. I shaped the dough as a batard, and placed it in the fridge overnight. Next day, I divided it lengthwise in half, and used the first portion to bake a baguette-ish creature (not quite as thin), and divided the remaining half in 7 pieces to bake as small boules in a muffin tin. You can watch a short video of my first attempt to do this technique, which had a few issues, but nothing too serious. Halfway through the video, the important stuff got a bit off-center, but I caught in time to re-adjust for the final scoring. Apologies, I am a true newbie at this. Also, if the closed captions are showing and annoying you, I do not know now how to get rid of them. Will have to investigate that for future videos.

Apart from the problems handling the dough, I loved the method, and intend to do it again and again, The little boules are adorable and two of them were almost immediately consumed by the husband with a bit of jam.

As to the recipe, essentially any formula will work. I used 475g white bread flour and 25g whole-wheat, with my usual method that you can find here. I have incorporated following the fermentation by removing a small portion of the dough to a little jar, which gives me extra confidence in the bulk fermentation step. I leave it fermenting at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, then shape and place in the fridge overnight.

1 YEAR AGO: Oreo Cupcakes

2 YEARS AGO:Chocolate and Wax Seal Stamps

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5 YEARS AGO:Turkey Jalapeño Meatballs

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20May2026

NUTELLA TARTLETS

Posted in Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

I saw these adorable tartlets on Instagram, fell in love and could not wait to try and make them myself. I invite you to follow Joyce, she is a wonderful baker, endless source of inspiration.

NUTELLA TARTLETS
(from @joyfulhomecooking)

for the dough:
1¾ cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
½ cup + 2 tbsp butter, room temperature

for the filling:
1 cup Nutella

In a bowl mix the flour, sugar and baking powder, add the egg, yolk and butter and bring the dough together. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough and cut circles, place them in a muffin pan. Fill with hazelnut spread. Cut sunflower shapes from the remaining dough using a cookie cutter and place on top.

Bake at 350F until lightly golden.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: To make these tartlets, I used two special gadgets: this set of baking pan from Evilcakegenius and this cookie cutter from PME. The dough was a pleasure to work with, I had no issues to roll, shape and cut the top shape.

It does get soft quickly, so you need to work with it while still cold and try to be fast, but if at any moment things get out of control, stick everything in the fridge for 10 minutes. Make sure to chill the cut daisy tops before moving them around, and be gentle, use a thin spatula to help you out.

I did not cut the center out as Joyce did, because I forgot. So I just improvised a little decoration on top instead. I intend to make them again in the near future, as they were a big hit. However, I might use a shallower tartlet format because they were truly super rich with the Nutella filling. Maybe a smaller version will work even better. Keep that in mind. One last thought, after Eha’s comment on the problems of Nutella and palm oil, I realize that not only there is a palm-free alternative, but I do have it in my pantry and it is pretty delicious: Soom spread, available here. You can avoid palm oil, but it is almost impossible to avoid the Amazon Evil Empire (sigh).
.

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16May2026

SALAD AND STEAK

Posted in Beef, Salads by sallybr

Vegetarians, you would be very satisfied without the steak because it is quite a hearty salad, so if you pair it with a slice of sourdough bread, you will be a happy camper. But, if you happen to be in my team, that team that loves a juicy steak cooked medium rare, go ahead and put them to work together…

HEARTY CHOPPED SALAD WITH STEAK
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

6 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 romaine heart, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise into ½-inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed
1 medium English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and diced
1/2 cup pitted mixed black and green olives
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon drained capers, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
drizzle of honey
dried dill to taste
1 firm-ripe avocado, halved, pitted and diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
T-bone steak or sirloin, cooked to your liking for serving

Salt the slices of cucumber and allow them, to sit for 15 minutes. Rinse, and pat dry.

Place the romaine pieces in a large mixing bowl, along with the chickpeas, cucumber, and olives.

In a small bowl, whisk together 6 tablespoons olive oil with the vinegar, capers, mustard, salt, pepper and dill to taste. Mix, and add a drizzle of honey.

Pour half the dressing over the salad, mix well. Add the avocado, and feta, toss gently, adding more dressing to taste. Top with steak slices, and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This was a perfect meal on a weeknight, with salad leftovers for next day. The avocado was a little beaten but still ok, all other components did not suffer at all from the night spent in the fridge. You can use goat cheese for even sharper bite, and maybe add cherry tomatoes, for a burst of color, although I must say I like the way it was all almost monochromatic, just the steak adding contrast. If you have a dinner party coming up, consider serving this salad, it will be a crowd-pleaser!